EA’s latest offering for the Sims 3 brings retro styles into your Sims’ lives, with the 70s, 80s and 90s Stuff Pack. As a child of the 90s, and a huge fan of 70s and 80s styles and music, I was particularly looking forward to this pack. Warning: this article may contain out-dated slang, which some readers may find “way uncoolâ€.
As always, the new pack brings a neat new loading screen, and I think this one is particularly funky. The new content it brings includes plenty of new stuff in Create-A-Sim, some furniture, and three new music stations: rap, rock, and disco.
As usual, there is a lot more content for young adult & adult female Sims than any other group, and there are no new tattoos in this pack. For toddlers and children, there’s nothing at all.
One of the new hairstyles
Hair
Female teens get the same new hairstyles as the adults and elders – of which there are four in total. The two new female hairstyles without accessories are quite pretty and would certainly suit a variety of Sims, not just those aiming for a retro style. The hairstyles with accessories are definitely a little more outrageous though, and I would definitely only use them to create specific characters.
For male Sims, there are just two new hairstyles, but they are both longer styles which is something EA hasn’t done enough of, in my totally biased opinion as a lover of men with long hair. Like the female hairstyles, they are available for teens through to elders.
It’s also worth noting here that if you have Showtime, the clothes and hairstyles from that pack are fantastic for mixing and matching with the 70s, 80s and 90s stuff.
This simple makeup can be restyled for an everyday look
Makeup
There are five new eyeshadow styles in this pack, which I absolutely love. Although I’m sure you could get some similar items via custom content, these are definitely going to be regularly used. The default colours are a bit crazy, but by adjusting one of them in particular to use some more everyday shades, you can create some really pretty looks. There’s also a fantastic Ziggy Stardust-style lightning bolt across the eye, and other awesome shapes that will be great for creating some real characters.
Clothes
Unfortunately, shoes have been neglected in this pack, so you’ll have to mix and match with what’s already available. Teenagers have also got a raw deal here, with only one new full outfit for female teens, and nothing at all for male teens. This is a real pity, as all of the clothes which were created for the adults would be suitable for the teens, and grunge-style clothes would be great for those rebellious teenagers. Elders, kids, and toddlers have also been completely left out, while, as always, men get much less in terms of new clothing than women.
This outfit would be fantastic for a Showtime performer
Most of the clothes are very retro, and there’s a fantastic jumpsuit with a chain belt in there. I also love the new workout gear, which I can see myself using for a lot of Sims, not just those with a particularly retro style (even though it is definitely very 80s in style). There’s also a cute new ruffled dress, which actually has four recolourable sections so it’s great for customisation.
Rolling into the late 80s and early 90s, we see some denim dungarees and some really brightly coloured dresses, paired with jackets with huge collars and accessorised with plenty of belts. Some of these are a little tricky in terms of customisation, as the colours of the chain necklaces and belts can’t be changed. But it’s the 90s, so nobody’s really going to notice if the colours clash a bit.
Although the t-shirt's print is bold, EA have thoughtfully included an option without the print
Also from the 90s era, we have a bunch of designs which include some rad t-shirts with patterns, which you’ll see amongst my screenshots. The great news for customisation addicts is that all of these include an option where the t-shirts are plain, so you can recolour to your heart’s content without worrying about clashing with the design on the t-shirt.
My favourite among the new clothes are the grungey clothes, which I think will be fantastic for Sims heading to University in the upcoming expansion pack. However, there is only one new outfit in this style for men, and two tops and two bottoms for women.
Unfortunately, my one major gripe with the clothes is that not enough of them are categorised appropriately. For women, only the new jumpsuit is categorised as formal wear, so that cute dress with the ruffles can’t be worn to formal events – what a pity! There are also no new accessories, though I did feel that this pack had plenty of potential for that.
Furniture
Some rooms in the house, like the kitchen, are completely missed out in this pack. But I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing, as it’s perfectly possible to create a retro-look kitchen with the content already available.
Fantastic retro living room, with sectional sofaThe furniture is all pretty 70s, and includes a great new sectional sofa, with a matching coffee table that can be placed independently or as part of the sofa. You can finish this 70s living room with a 70s hi-fi and TV. There’s also an 80s-style dining set, which is, by default, very brightly coloured, but which could easily be recoloured for a more versatile look.
From the 90s, we have a fantastic TV cabinet, which would actually fit into a number of living rooms, and an early 90s stereo on a brightly coloured little table. For a more grungey household, the pack also contains an industrial style bookshelf and end table.
In build mode, we find a groovy new fireplace, which would look fantastic in a room with the new sectional sofa, and a new archway.
As always, freezer bunny makes an appearance, this time in a neat poster.
If you’re looking for items to make a disco lot with, you’ll love the new disco ball with stars, though it unfortunately doesn’t spin or change colours, as well as the light wall panels, which do change colour and would look totally far out in a disco. And don’t forget to put the new disco radio station on while you’re there. Groovy.
The Verdict?
The only drawbacks to this pack are the same complaints you may have of many of the stuff packs: there is a bias towards adult females in the amount of new clothing and hair, and some of the new clothing isn't categorised in as many categories as it could be.
If you’re a retro addict, then of course you are absolutely going to love this pack. But even if you’re not addicted to disco, there are some styles in this pack which you’ll definitely love, so take a look at my screenshots before you decide whether to pass on this one – in my opinion, you’d really be missing out on some wicked stuff here. If you have the Showtime Expansion Pack, or are planning on getting the University Life Expansion Pack, the items in 70s, 80s and 90s Stuff will complement both of those packs fantastically.
